Method of manufacturing display device

ABSTRACT

A display device includes a flexible first substrate including a display part, a bending part at one side of the display part, and a pad part at one side of the bending part; a back film adhered to a portion corresponding to the display part and the pad part on a bottom of the first substrate; a supporting member disposed below a portion of the back film corresponding to the display part, wherein the supporting member is not bent, and wherein the bending part of the first substrate is bent along a side of the supporting member; and a second substrate facing the display part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/689,627 filed on Aug. 29, 2017, which is Divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/447,033 filed on Jul. 30, 2014 (now U.S. Pat.No. 9,769,919, issued on Sep. 19, 2017), which claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 119(a) to the Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0090292filed on Jul. 30, 2013, all of which are hereby expressly incorporatedby reference into the present application. Further, the presentapplication relates to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/689,576 filed Aug.29, 2017, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/447,033 filed on Jul. 30, 2014.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a display device, and moreparticularly, to a display device with a reduced bezel width and amethod of manufacturing the same.

Discussion of the Related Art

Flat Panel Display (FPD) devices are applied to various electronicproducts such as portable phones, tablet PCs, notebooks, etc. The FPDdevices include Liquid crystal Display (LCD) device, Plasma Displaypanels (PDPs), and Organic Light Emitting Display (OLED) Device, etc.Recently, Elctropohretic display (EPD) devices are widely used as theFPD devices.

In such FPD devices (hereinafter simply referred to as a displaydevice), the LCD devices are being most widely commercialized at presentbecause the LCD devices are easily manufactured due to the advance ofmanufacturing technology and realize drivability of a driver and ahigh-quality image.

In such FPD devices, the organic light emitting display devices have afast response time of 1 ms or less and low power consumption, and haveno limitation in a viewing angle because the organic light emittingdisplay devices self-emit light. Accordingly, the organic light emittingdisplay devices are attracting much attention as next generation FPDdevices.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a generaldisplay device.

Referring to FIG. 1, the general display device includes a display panel10 and a panel driver 20. The display panel 10 includes a lowersubstrate 12 and an upper substrate 14 which are facing-coupled to eachother.

The lower substrate 12 may be formed of a glass substrate, but, it maybe formed of a thin and flexible substrate such as plastic. The lowersubstrate 12 includes a display area that includes a plurality of pixelsfor displaying an image, a non-display area that surrounds the displayarea, and a pad part that is provided in a peripheral area of one sideof the lower substrate 12.

For example, a plurality of gate lines and data lines that define aplurality of pixel areas are formed to intersect each other in thedisplay area, a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed in each areadefined by the intersection of a corresponding gate line and data line,and a pixel electrode connected to the TFT is formed in each of thepixel areas. The pad part is provided in the peripheral area of the oneside of the lower substrate 12 to be connected to the gate lines and thedata lines, and connected to the panel driver 20.

The upper substrate 14 is formed of a thin and transparent substratesuch as plastic or glass substrate, and is formed to have an arearelatively less than the lower substrate 12. The upper substrate 14 isfacing-coupled to a portion of the lower substrate 12 except the padpart of the lower substrate 12 by a coupling member (not shown), whichis formed in a closed-loop type, in a non-display area of the lowersubstrate 12.

An optical film (not shown) may be adhered to a top of the uppersubstrate 14, in which case the optical film may have an anti-reflectionfunction that prevents polarization and/or reflection of external light.

The panel driver 20 is connected to the pad part of the lower substrate12, and supplies signals to the gate lines and data lines. To this end,the panel driver 20 may include a flexible circuit board 21, a drivingintegrated circuit (IC) 23, a control board 25, and a driving circuitpart 27.

The flexible circuit board 21 is adhered to the pad part of the lowersubstrate 12, and bent to a bottom of the lower substrate 12 to surrounda side surface of the lower substrate 12.

The driving IC 23 is mounted on the flexible circuit board 21. Thedriving IC 23 generates data signals and a pixel driving signal fordisplaying an image on the display panel 10 on the basis of image dataand a timing sync signal which are supplied from the control board 25,and supplies them to the pad part.

The control board 25 is adhered to the flexible circuit board 21, anddisposed at the bottom of the lower substrate 21. The control board 25is connected to a main substrate (not shown) that generates image dataand the timing sync signal which correspond to an image to be displayedby the display panel 10, and transfers the image data and timing syncsignal, which are supplied from the main substrate, to the driving IC 23through the flexible circuit board 21.

The driving circuit board 27 is mounted on the control board 25, andincludes passive elements, such as a resistor, a capacitor, an inductor,and/or an IC. The driving circuit board 27 generates a voltage necessaryto drive the display panel 10 and/or the driving IC 23.

The related art flexible display device described above drives thepixels of the display panel 10 according to a driving of the paneldriver 20, thereby displaying a desired image on the display panel 10.

However, in the related art flexible display device, the flexiblecircuit board 21 configuring the panel driver 20 is bent to surround aside surface of the lower substrate 12, and thus, a portion of theflexible circuit board 21 and a bending part 21 a are disposed at a sidesurface of the display panel 10. Therefore, a bezel width W increasesdue to one side of the lower substrate 12, the portion of the flexiblecircuit board 21, and the bending part 21 a.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to provide a displaydevice and method of manufacturing the same that substantially obviateone or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the relatedart.

An aspect of the present invention is directed to providing a displaydevice with a reduced bezel width and a method of manufacturing thesame.

Additional advantages and features of the invention will be set forth inpart in the description which follows and in part will become apparentto those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of thefollowing or may be learned from practice of the invention. Theobjectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized andattained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there isprovided a method of manufacturing a display device. According to oneexample, the method includes providing a first substrate including adisplay part, a bending part at one side of the display part, and a padpart at an end of the bending part. The method further includesproviding a second substrate facing-coupled to the display part,providing a back film, and adhering the back film to a portioncorresponding to the display part and the pad part on a bottom of thefirst substrate.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a generaldisplay device;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a display device according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a bendingpart of a display panel applied to the display device according to anembodiment of the present invention is not bent;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a side and a plane of theback film applied to the display device according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method of manufacturingthe display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram schematically illustrating a sectionalview of the display device manufactured by the method of manufacturingthe display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Hereinafter, a display device and a method of manufacturing the sameaccording to embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a display device according tothe present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustratinga state in which a bending part of a display panel applied to thedisplay device according to the present invention is not bent.

The display device according to an example of the present invention, asillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, include: a display panel 100 including afirst substrate 110, which includes a display part 117 in which aplurality of pixels are formed, a bending part 115 formed in one side ofthe display part and a pad part formed in an end of the bending part115, and a second substrate 120 facing-coupled to the first substrate110; a back film 300 adhered to a portion corresponding to the displaypart 117 and the pad part 116 in a bottom of the first substrate; and asupporting member 400 supporting the back film 300 adhered to a portioncorresponding to the display part 117. Here, a side of the supportingmember 400 facing the bending part 115 is formed to be rounded such thatthe bending part 115 is guided. The term “facing-coupled” preferablymeans facing and coupled. All the components of the display device ofthe present invention are operatively coupled and configured.

First, the display panel 100 will now be described.

The display panel 100 may be formed to be flexible by using the flexiblefirst substrate 110 and second substrate 120. In the followingdescription, it is assumed that the display panel 100 is an organiclight emitting display panel applied to a flexible organic lightemitting display device that is a type of the organic light emittingdisplay panel of the flexible display device. The display panel 100includes the first and second substrate 110 and 120, and an optical film150 that is formed at a top of the second substrate 120.

First, the first substrate 110 is a flexible thin film substrate, andmay be formed of a plastic material or a metal foil. That is, the firstsubstrate 110 is formed of a flexible material, and thus, as illustratedin FIGS. 2 and 3, the first substrate 110 may be bent.

For example, the first substrate 110 of a plastic material may be formedof one selected from polyimide (PI), polycarbonate (PC), polynorbomeen(PNB), polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), polyethylenapthanate (PEN), andpolyethersulfone (PES). The first substrate 110 includes a display part117, the bending part 115, and the pad part 116.

The display part 117 of the first substrate 110 includes a plurality ofgate lines, a plurality of data lines, a plurality of driving powerlines, the plurality of pixels, and a cathode power line.

The plurality of gate lines are arranged at certain intervals tointersect the plurality of data lines, and the plurality of drivingpower lines are arranged in parallel to the plurality of gate lines orthe plurality of data lines.

The plurality of pixels are respectively formed in a plurality of pixelareas defined by intersections between the plurality of gate lines andthe plurality of data lines, and displays an image according to a gatesignal from the gate lines and data signals from the respective datalines. To this end, each of the plurality of pixels includes a pixeldriving circuit connected to a corresponding gate line and data line andan organic light emitting element connected to the pixel driving circuitand the cathode power line.

The pixel driving circuit includes a switching transistor connected to acorresponding gate line and data line, a driving transistor connected tothe switching transistor, and a capacitor connected to a gate and sourceelectrode of the driving transistor.

The pixel driving circuit supplies a data signal, supplied to thecorresponding data line through the switching transistor which is turnedon according to the gate signal supplied through the corresponding gateline, to the driving transistor to store a gate-source voltage of thedriving transistor corresponding to the data signal in the capacitor.

The driving transistor is turned on with the voltage stored in thecapacitor, and supplies a data current corresponding to the data signalto the organic light emitting element. Here, each of the transistors maybe an a-Si thin film transistor (TFT), a poly-Si TFT, an oxide TFT, oran organic TFT.

The pixel driving circuit may further include at least one compensationtransistor and at least one compensation capacitor that compensate for athreshold voltage of the driving transistor.

The organic light emitting element includes a pixel electrode (or ananode electrode) connected to the driving transistor, an organicemitting layer formed on the pixel electrode, and a cathode electrodeformed on the organic emitting layer. The organic light emitting elementemits light with a data current which flows from the pixel electrode tothe cathode electrode according to the driving transistor being turnedon, and emits light of luminance, corresponding to the data current, toon the second substrate.

The cathode power line may be provided at an entire surface of thedisplay part to be electrically connected to the cathode electrode ofeach pixel, or provided in the form of patterns to be electricallyconnected to the respective cathode electrodes of a plurality of pixelsformed on a vertical line or horizontal line of the display part. Thecathode power line may be provided to be electrically connected to theorganic emitting layer of each pixel, in which case the cathodeelectrode is not provided.

The non-display part is formed in a peripheral region of the displaypart 117. That is, the non-display part is arranged in the peripheralregion of the display part 117 to surround the display part 117. Here,the non-display part may be defined as an area overlapping an edgeportion of the second substrate 120.

A plurality of link lines which are electrically connected to theplurality of gate lines, the plurality of data lines, the plurality ofdriving power lines, and the cathode power line, which are provided inthe display part 117, and are provided at one side of the non-displaypart. Here, the one side of the non-display part faces the bending part.

The bending part 115 extends from the one side of the non-display partto have a certain area, and is bent in a lower direction of the firstsubstrate 110. That is, the bending part 115 is bent by a substratebending apparatus to have a certain curvature, and overlaps a lowerportion of one side of the second substrate 120. A plurality ofextension lines electrically connected to the respective link lines areprovided at the bending part 115.

The pad part 116 is electrically connected to a flexible circuit board220 of the panel driver 200. However, the pad part 116 may beelectrically connected to the driving integrated circuit (IC) 210 of thepanel driver 200. That is, in FIGS. 2 and 3, the flexible circuit board220 is electrically connected to the pad part 116, and the driving IC210 is mounted on the flexible circuit board 220. However, the presentinvention is not limited thereto.

For example, the driving IC 210 may be mounted on the pad part 116 thatis provided at the first substrate 110. In this case, the pad part 116is electrically connected to the driving IC 210 instead of the flexiblecircuit board 220.

Second, the second substrate 120 is formed of a transparent plasticmaterial, and formed to have an area relatively less than the firstsubstrate 110. The second substrate 120 is facing-coupled to the firstsubstrate 110 by a coupling member which is formed in a closed-loop typeat the non-display part of the first substrate 110.

The coupling member facing-couples the first substrate 110 to the secondsubstrate 120, and seals a space between the first substrate 110 and thesecond substrate 120 for protecting the organic light emitting elementagainst external moisture or oxygen. That is, the second substrate 120may perform a function of an encapsulating substrate (an encap) thatseals the first substrate 110.

Third, the optic film 150 is formed to have a function that polarizeslight and/or an anti-reflection function that prevents reflection ofexternal light, and is adhered to the second substrate 120. However, theoptic film 150 may be omitted.

Fourth, the back film 300 is adhered to the bottom of the firstsubstrate 110, prevents a foreign material from being adhered to thebottom of the first substrate 110, and prevents light emitted from thedisplay part 117 of the first substrate 110 from traveling in a lowerdirection of the first substrate 110. Moreover, the back film 300performs a function that adheres the pad part 116 of the first substrate110 to the bottom of the supporting member 400.

The first substrate 110 undergoes a process of forming the pixel drivingcircuit in a state of being mounted on a main substrate such as a glasssubstrate, is coupled to the second substrate 110, and is separated fromthe main substrate. In this case, a first substrate adhesive may havebeen disposed at the bottom of the first substrate 110 attached to themain substrate, and due to the first substrate adhesive, a foreignmaterial may be easily adhered to the first substrate 110.

Therefore, the back film 300 is adhered to the bottom of the firstsubstrate 110 separated from the main substrate. The back film 300 maybe provided in a plate shape such as plastic, or provided in a filmshape.

Especially, the back film 300 includes a first film 310 adhered to aportion corresponding to the display part 117 and a second film 320adhered to a portion corresponding to the pad part 116, and the firstfilm 310 and the second film 320 are separated from each other in anarea corresponding to the bending part 115.

The first film 310 and the second film 320 are separated from each otherin an area corresponding to the bending part 115, and thus, a wrinkle oran air bubble can be prevented from occurring in the back film 300 inthe area corresponding to the bending part 115. Therefore, the qualityof the display device may be enhanced.

A detailed configuration and function of the back film 300 will bedescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

Next, the panel driver 200 will now be described.

The panel driver 500 may be configured with the flexible circuit board220 and the driving IC 210.

First, the flexible circuit board 220 may use a chip-on film (COF) or aflexible printed circuit (FPC), and the driving IC 210 that supplies adata signal and a gate signal (hereinafter simply referred to as asignal) for emitting light from pixels of the display panel 100 isinstalled in the flexible circuit board 220.

One side of the flexible circuit board 220 is electrically connected tothe pad part 116 of the first substrate 110.

Second, the driving IC 210 is mounted on the flexible circuit board 220by a chip bonding process or a surface mounting process, and bonded to aplurality of signal supply terminals and a plurality of signal inputterminals.

The driving IC 210 generates data signals and a gate signal on the basisof image data and a timing sync signal which are supplied from theoutside through the plurality of signal input terminals, and suppliesthe generated data signals and gate signal to corresponding signalsupply terminals to drive the respective pixels formed in the displaypart of the first substrate 110, thereby displaying an imagecorresponding to the image data on the display part 117.

However, the panel driver 200 is not limited to the above-describedconfiguration. That is, the panel driver 200 may be configured invarious types.

The panel driver 200 according to the first embodiment, as describedabove, may include the flexible circuit board 220 and the driving IC210.

The panel driver 200 according to a second embodiment may include onlythe driving IC 210. That is, the flexible circuit board 220 may beelectrically connected to the pad part 116, and thus, the driving IC 210may be electrically connected to the first substrate 110, or directlyconnected to the pad part 116 that is provided at the first substrate110. In this case, the panel driver 200 may be configured with only thedriving IC 210.

The panel driver 200 according to a third embodiment may include theflexible circuit board 220, the driving IC 210, and a plurality ofdriving elements that are disposed at the flexible circuit board 220 soas to supply image data and a timing sync signal, which are input froman external control board, to the driving IC 210.

The panel driver 200 according to the fourth embodiment may include theflexible circuit board 220, the driving IC 210 disposed at the flexiblecircuit board 220, a driving circuit board electrically connected to theflexible circuit board, and the plurality of driving elements disposedat the driving circuit board.

In addition to the above-described embodiments, the panel driver 200 maybe configured in various types.

Finally, the supporting member 400 will now be described.

The supporting member 400 supports the back film 300 adhered to aportion corresponding to the display part 117, and a side of thesupporting member 400 facing the bending part 115 is formed to berounded such that the bending part 115 is guided.

That is, the supporting member 400 supports the back film 300 such thatthe bending part 115 is formed to be rounded.

The supporting member 400, as shown in FIG. 2, may be formed to supporta whole area corresponding to the display part 117 of the back film 300and the display panel 100, or may be formed to support an areacorresponding to a portion which is adjacent to the bending part 115 ofthe back film 300 and the display panel 100.

The supporting member 400, of which one side is rounded, may be formedby a hemming process. That is, the supporting member 400 may be formedof a metal material such as stainless or a bendable synthetic resin, andthe rounded side of the supporting member 400 may be formed by a processof bending one end of the metal material or the synthetic resin.

Moreover, the rounded side of the supporting member 400 may be formed bya process of rounding one end of the metal material or the syntheticresin.

The method of manufacturing the display device which includes theabove-described elements, according to the present invention, will bebriefly described with reference to FIG. 3.

First, the display panel 100 is manufactured.

Next, a back film 300 is adhered to the bottom of the first substrate110 configuring the display panel 100. The back film 300 includes thefirst film 310 corresponding to the display part 117 and the second film320 corresponding to the pad part 116, and the first film 310 and thesecond film 320 are separated from each other in a portion correspondingto the bending part 115.

Next, the panel driver 200 is adhered to the panel part 116.

Next, the second film 320 is adhered to the bottom of the supportingmember 400.

Finally, the panel driver 200 is adhered to the bottom of the supportingmember 400 by an adhesive member 500, and thus, as shown in FIG. 2, thedisplay device according to the present invention is manufactured. Asshown in FIG. 3, the adhesive member 500 may be adhered to the paneldriver 200 in a state of being adhered to a bottom of the supportingmember 400, or may be adhered to the bottom of the supporting member 400in a state of being adhered to the panel driver 200.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a side and a plane of theback film applied to the display device according to the presentinvention, and a portion (a) of FIG. 4 illustrates a side of the backfilm and a portion b of FIG. 4 illustrates a plane of the back film.

The back film 300 applied to the display device according to the presentinvention is adhered to a portion, corresponding to the display part 117and the pad part 116, at a bottom of the first substrate 110.

The back film 300 includes the first film 310 adhered to a portioncorresponding to the display part 117 and the second film 320 adhered toa portion corresponding to the pad part 116, and the first film 310 andthe second film 320 are separated from each other in area correspondingto the bending part 115.

That is, a separation space 330 is formed in the back film and betweenthe first film 310 corresponding to the display part 117 and the secondparts 320 corresponding to the pad part 116. Here, the separation space330 corresponds to the bending part 115.

The second film 320 adhered to a portion corresponding to the pad part116 is adhered to the bottom of the supporting member 400.

A cross-sectional surface of the back film 300 is illustrated in aportion (a) of FIG. 4, and the plane of the back film 300 is illustratedin a portion (b) of FIG. 4. Particularly, in FIG. 4, the back film 300which is not adhered to the display device according to the presentinvention is illustrated.

In this case, as described above, in the back film 300, the first film310 and the second film 320 are disposed with the separation space 330therebetween.

The top adhesive material 340 is disposed on tops of the first film 310and the second film 320, and a bottom adhesive material 360 is disposedon bottoms of the first film 310 and the second film 320.

The top adhesive material 340 disposed on the top of the first film 310adheres the top of the first film 310 to a bottom of an areacorresponding to the pad part 116 of the first substrate, and the bottomadhesive material 360 disposed on the bottom of the first film 310adheres a bottom of the first film 310 to a top of the supporting member400.

The top adhesive material 340 disposed on a top of the second film 320adheres a top of the second film 320 to the bottom of an areacorresponding to the pad part 116, and the bottom adhesive material 360disposed on the bottom of the second film 320 adheres a bottom of thesecond film 320 to the bottom of the supporting member 400.

A top release paper 350 is adhered to the top adhesive material 340, anda bottom release paper 370 is adhered to the bottom adhesive material360.

The top release paper 350 protects the top adhesive material 340disposed on the first film 310 and the second film 320. The bottomrelease paper 370 protects the bottom adhesive material 360 disposed onthe first film 310 and the second film.

The top release paper 350 and the bottom release paper 370 is removedform the back film 300 immediately before the back film 300 is adheredto the first substrate 110 and the supporting member 400.

The method of manufacturing the film 300 will now be described briefly.

First, the top adhesive material 340 is disposed on a top of a motherfilm of the back film. Hereinafter, the mother film is referred to as abase film.

Next, the top release paper 350 is adhered to the top adhesive material340.

Next, the bottom adhesive material 360 is disposed on a bottom of thebase back film of the back film.

Next, the bottom release paper 370 is adhered to the bottom adhesivematerial 360.

Next, the surface of the top release paper 350, the top adhesivematerial 340, the back film 300 and the bottom adhesive material 360 arecut by using a cutting machine. In this case, two parts are cut to beseparated from each other by a distance corresponding to a width VG ofthe separation space 330 such that an area corresponding to theseparation space 330 is formed.

That is, the top release paper 350, the top adhesive material 340, theback film 300 and the bottom adhesive material 360 are cut at twopositions by using the cutting machine.

Finally, in a cut area, the bottom adhesive elements 360, the back film300, the top adhesive material 340 and the top release paper 350 areseparated from the bottom release paper 370, and thus, the back film 300shown in a portion (a) of FIG. 4 is formed. When the back film 300 shownin a portion (a) of FIG. 4 is seen on a plane, the first film 310 andthe second film 320 are separated from each other with the separationspace 330 therebetween.

That is, the present invention is applied to a display device in which aflexible first substrate 110 is bended, and enables a bended portion tobe more simply formed. In the present invention, the back film 310 isdivided into two areas with the separation space 330 therebetween.

The width VG of the separation space 330 is variously set according tothe models, but, the width VG of the space 330 may be expressed asfollows.

That is, the width VG of the space 330 is set to a value “VG=radius ofcurvature×bending angle+bending margin” obtained by adding a bendingmargin to a value which is obtained by multiplying a radius of curvatureof a rounded side of the supporting member.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the display device by using theback film 300 shown in FIG. 4, according to the present invention, willbe described in detail.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method of manufacturingthe display device according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is anexemplary diagram schematically illustrating a sectional view of thedisplay device manufactured by the method of manufacturing the displaydevice according to the present method. Comparing with FIGS. 2 and 3, astructure of the back film 30 is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 6.

First, referring to a portion (a) of FIG. 5, the display panel 100 ismanufactured by coupling the first substrate 110, which includes aplurality of pixels and in which the bending part 115 is provided at oneside distal end of the first substrate 110, to the second substrate 120facing-coupled to the first substrate 110.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, a back film 300, which includes a toprelease paper 350 and bottom release paper 370 adhered to the back film300 and in which the separation space 330 is formed, is manufactured.

Here, the panel driver 200 may be mounted on the pad part 116 extendingfrom the bending part 115. When the panel driver 200 is configured withthe flexible circuit board 220 and the driving IC 210, the flexiblecircuit board 220 is connected to the pad part 116, and the driving IC210 is disposed at the flexible circuit board 220.

However, as described above, the driving IC 210 may be directly disposedat the pad part 116.

Moreover, the order in which the driving IC 210 is connected to the padpart 116 may be variously changed.

Next, referring to a portion (b) of FIG. 5, the top release paper 350covering a top of the back film 300 is removed from the back film 300,and then, the back film is adhered to a bottom of the first substrate110 by using the top adhesive material 340.

In this case, the first substrate adhesive may be disposed on the bottomof the first substrate 110. The first substrate adhesive may be anadhesive, which is used for adhering the first substrate 110 to the mainsubstrate and remains after separating the first substrate from the mainsubstrate, or, may be an adhesive, which is disposed additionally afterseparating the first substrate 110 from the main substrate.

The first film 310 and the second film 320 configuring the back film 300may adhered to the bottom of the first substrate 110 by one-timeadhesion process.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the first film 310 and the second film 320are connected to each other by the bottom release paper 370, and thus,despite separation of the top release paper 350 is separated, the firstfilm 310 and the second film 320 are continuously connected to eachother by the bottom release paper 370.

Therefore, the first film 310 and the second film 320 may be adhered tothe bottom of the first substrate 110 by an adhesion process.

Moreover, the first film 310 and the second film 320 are separated fromeach other by a separation space therebetween, which has a width VGpredetermined in consideration of a radius of curvature of thesupporting member 400, and thus, a separate process of arranging thefirst film 310 and the second film 320 in the display part 117, thebending part 115 and the pad part 116 is not needed.

That is, if the first film 310 is adhered to the bottom of the firstsubstrate 110 such that the first film 310 matches the first film 310,the second film 320 is automatically adhered to a portion correspondingto the pad part 116, and thus, the separation space 330 is formed in anarea corresponding to the bending part 115.

Next, referring to a portion (c) of FIG. 5, the first film 310 isadhered to the top of the supporting member 400 having a rounded side.

In this case, after removing the bottom release paper 370 covering thebottom of the back film 300 from the back film 300, the first film 310is adhered to the top of the supporting member 400. Here, the bottomadhesive material 360 and the bottom release paper 370 are removedtogether, and the first film 310 is adhered to the top of the supportingmember 400 by an adhesive which is adhered or disposed on the top of thesupporting member 400.

Because the second film 320 is already adhered to a portioncorresponding to the pad part 116, although the bottom adhesive material360 and the bottom release paper 370 are removed, the second film 320may be continuously adhered to the bottom of the first substrate 110.

Next, the bending part 115 is bended along the rounded side of thesupporting member 400.

In this case, the bending part 115 may be naturally bended because theseparation space 330 is formed in an area corresponding to the bendingpart 115.

Next, as shown in a portion (d) of FIG. 5, the pad part 116 is closelyadhered to the bottom of the supporting member 400 by the second film320.

That is, when the bending part 115 is bended as shown in a portion (d)of FIG. 5, the second film 320 adhered to the pad part 116 faces thebottom of the supporting member 400.

In this case, if the second film 320 is adhered to the bottom of thesupporting member 400 by using an adhesive which is adhered or disposedon the bottom of the supporting member 400, the pad part 116 coupled tothe second film 320 may be adhered to the bottom of the supportingmember 400.

That is, according to the above-described present invention, the firstfilm 310 and the second film 320 are simply adhered to the firstsubstrate 110 and the supporting member 400.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 6, the panel driver 200 is adhered to thebottom of the supporting member 400 by the adhesive member 500, andthus, the display device according to the present invention ismanufactured. However, in addition to the method shown in FIG. 6, thepanel driver 200 may be adhered to the supporting member 400 by usingvarious methods, and may be adhered to different elements instead of thesupporting member 400.

The embodiments of the present invention will be summarized as follows.

In a related art display device, when a first substrate of a displaypanel is formed of a flexible substrate such as plastic for the purposeof decreasing a width of a bezel of the display panel, a first substrateadhesive and a back film are adhered to an end portion of one side ofthe first substrate, and the bending part is bended in certaincurvature.

In this case, the first substrate and the first substrate adhesive arethin and flexible, and thus may be bended easily, and a bended state maybe maintained.

However, it is difficult for the back film 400 to maintain a shape, andan air bubble and a wrinkle can occur in a surface adhered to thebending part according to a radius of a curvature of the back film 400,and thus, a quality of the display device can be degraded.

To solve such problems, in another related art display device, the backfilm is not adhered to the bending part, and is only adhered to a top ofthe supporting member. In this case, a first substrate adhesive shouldbe used for adhering the first substrate to the bottom of the supportingmember. However, due to a low adhesive power and a crack of the firstsubstrate adhesive, the first substrate adhesive is not be adhered tothe supporting member well, and for this reason, a process of adhering aseparate adhesive such as a stiffener to an end of the first substrateis needed. Therefore, a new process should be added to the method ofmanufacturing the display device.

According to the embodiment(s) of the present invention provided forsolving these problems, in the back film 300 adhered between the displaypanel 100 and the supporting member 400, in a portion corresponding tothe bending part 115 of the display panel, a separation space is formed,and thus, the back film can be easily adhered to the display panel 100and the supporting member 400. Therefore, the number of processes formanufacturing the display device can be reduced, and it is possible tosolve a problem which occurs in an aligning process. That is, the numberof process can be reduced, and the aligning process can be easilyperformed by replacing the stiffener with the back film.

According to the embodiment(s) of the present invention, the bendingpart of the first substrate configuring the display panel is directlybent in a bottom direction of the display panel, and the pad partextending from the bending part is disposed at the bottom of the displaypanel, thus decreasing the bezel width of the display panel.

Moreover, according to the embodiment(s) of the present invention, dueto the rounded side surface of the supporting member disposed at thebottom of the display panel, the bending part of the first substrate isnaturally folded with the bending part having a curved surface, andthus, the plurality of circuits provided at the bending part can beprevented from being damaged.

Moreover, according to the embodiment(s) of the present invention, aseparation space is formed in a portion corresponding to the bendingpart of the back film which is adhered between a bottom of the firstsubstrate configuring the display panel and the supporting member toprotect a bottom of the display panel, and thus, stress is not appliedto the back film.

Moreover, according to the embodiment(s) of the present invention, theback film may be adhered to the bottom of the first substrate byone-time process, and thus, the number of processes for manufacturingthe display device can be reduced.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device comprising: a flexible firstsubstrate including a display part, a bending part at one side of thedisplay part, and a pad part at one side of the bending part; a backfilm adhered to a portion corresponding to the display part and the padpart on a bottom of the first substrate; a supporting member disposedbelow a portion of the back film corresponding to the display part,wherein the supporting member is not bent, and wherein the bending partof the first substrate is bent along a side of the supporting member;and a second substrate facing the display part.
 2. The display device ofclaim 1, wherein prior to disposing the supporting member, the back filmcomprises: a bottom adhesive layer adhered to a base back film; and abottom release layer adhered to a surface of the bottom adhesive layer,wherein a portion of the bottom adhesive layer corresponding to thebending part is cut out.
 3. The display device of claim 1, wherein thesupporting member is adhered to a lower surface of the potion of theback film corresponding to the display part.